Wetlands Restoration Project Update

The latest update from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management on wetlands restoration is available.

NESL Students -- Interested in Env. Moot Court?

Professor Cox at NESL has extended the application date until Fri, Sept 29. See him for details.

Siberian Permafrost Melting

As the article mentions, this is a bad sign because of both the carbon and methane normally trapped by permafrost: Climate Change Cited in Siberian Landscape Shift

California sues automakers over greenhouse emissions

California sues automakers over greenhouse emissions

Suing automakers for creating a public nuisance? According to the article, a NY court has dismissed that argument before. Any thoughts on this version surviving?

REBA luncheon

Yesterday I attended a luncheon of the Real Estate Bar Association's Environmental Committee, to hear Arleen O'Donnell, the new acting commissioner of MassDEP, speak briefly. She was energetic, attentive to questions and feedback, and had many interesting things to say.

One of the things we discussed was illegal dumping. At the time, I was already thinking about the common difficulties states and the international community face: for example, storm runoff isn't generally subject to Clean Water Act NPDES requirements, and the impact of that same kind of regulatory gap exists in the international arena as well, only it's between nations rather than between states. How can you reach into a state and effectively control this kind of source without infringing upon their sovereignty?

So, it made for an interesting resonance on U.S. states and nations and their common difficulties when I saw an article on illegal dumping this morning, after yesterday's discussion, about petrochemical waste dumped in Ivory Coast. (Residents complained about the smell of hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs), leading to the discovery, and -- this is interesting -- two executives of the Dutch company that owned the dumping tanker were arrested.)

Womens Bar Association Career Panel

Save the date:

"Ask and You Shall Receive"

Thursday, September 28th
6:00 p.m.
Edwards Angell
Palmer & Dodge LLP
111 Huntington Avenue
Boston

Panelists:
Beth I.Z. Boland - partner at Bingham McCutchen
M. Ellen Carpenter - founding partner at Roach & Carpenter
Kathleen L. McGinn - author and professor at Harvard Graduate School of Business Admin.
Evelyn Murphy - author and president of The WAGE Project and former Lt. Gov of MA
Betsy Munnell (Moderator) - partner at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge

Hosted by The New Lawyers Committe of the WBA.

RSVP to: programs@womensbar.org or call 617.973.6666

Fee for law students: $10, admission may be paid online at www.womensbar.org or bring a check made payable to "WBA".

AltWheels Events around Boston

September AltWheels Events (full details on our website at www.altwheels.org)
1) September 21st 4-7:30 p.m. Alternative Transportation Caravan from Larz Anderson to Stata Center at MIT. Let us know if you have an alternative vehicle and want to be in the caravan. Otherwise come meet us at 6 at the MIT Stata Center with the media for a preview of our show.
2)September 22nd 7:00-7:00 p.m.. Boston City Hall Plaza. Come meet Mayor Menino, see more than 60 vehicles including more than 16 types of alternative transportation technology, be one of the first 1000 people to pledge to change a lightbulb on the Energy Freedom Trail and get a free CFL lightbulb, bring your bike to the REI free bike repair tent, hear talks by Peter Senge, Francis Moore Lappe, EO Wilson, Sousan Abadian and Ron Heifitz, and Patricia Aberdeen, and experience the first alternative transportation awards. Music from 5:30-7:00 pm by Kevin Connelly. This is our main day, it is free, and volunteers are badly needed. (See below)
3)September 23rd 10:00-4:00 p.m. Boston City Hall Plaza. See more than 60 vehicles including more than 16 types of alternative transportation technology, be one of the first 1000 people to pledge to change a lightbulb on the Energy Freedom Trail and get a free CFL lightbulb, bring your bike to the REI free bike repair tent, many events for kids including activities from the Museum of Science, the Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium. Music all day from the CocaBanana band.
4) September 24th 10:00-4:00 p.m. Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline. Come join us at our original home. See more than 60 vehicles including more than 16 types of alternative transportation technology, have a chance to talk with users of alternative transportation technologies, test drive some of the many scooters and Segways, meet the pioneers who have converted their vehicles to run on used vegetable oil (Chinese and BBQ) and much more.
5) September 25th 8-1:30 p.m. Fleet Day Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline. We end our week of events with an invitation only event for corporate, state and municipal fleet managers.
Here are the FOUR WAYS we need your help to make these events a success:
1) Help us share the word. Please send this email on to others in Boston who care about environmental issues, who are around in September or who want to learn more about what is happening and the real options that exist today in alternative transportation and energy technologies. In addition to several give-aways, a chance to see the latest vehicles being designed by Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda and others, we are also offering discounts on many of the alternative vehicles at the festival. There will also be an auction for two Prius' just in time for the $3,150 tax deduction that is cut in half October 1st. So if you or others are thinking about your alternative vehicle options this is the place and the time. Please forward this email to your friends and networks.
2) Please consider volunteering. If we receive the crowds we expect we will need close to 400 volunteers to cover the six events listed above. In addition to helping us with key areas, we are creating a green energy freedom trail this year with twenty-six stops of ways to lessen each of our environmental footprints. Many of these stations need to be manned and volunteers of course get free admission to the events they cover. If you have more than 3 hours to offer between September 16-25th please go on the AltWheels website (www.altwheels.org) and sign up to volunteer. It is very rewarding and we really need you. There are also two training evenings in September listed as part of the volunteer form on the web site. We would be so appreciative for your help this year.
3) You are welcome to exhibit or sponsor but the deadline for exhibiting at Boston City Hall is coming up fast so if you are interested please go on our website this week and fax in the exhibit form. Larz Anderson has more flexibility around the deadline.
4) Join us for our last planning meeting September 8th at 60 State Street from 8-10 am. If you do want to join us you need to RSVP so I can put you on the security list and so we will have enough breakfast.
Thanks so much for the incredible energy, vision, and outpouring from our volunteers and committee coordinators. We are thrilled to be on Boston City Hall Plaza this year and so hope to see each of you for the parts of the festival that excite you. We are planting seeds for a growing awareness of how we are connected across the planet and how important our choices are in defining the future we will all share. Please come lend your support. We need you!
With appreciation.

www.altwheels.org

Fall Conference Announcements

1. Law Seminars International is hosting their 2nd annual conference on "LNG Development in the Northeast" on December 4th & 5th at the Hilton Hotel in the Back Bay. For more information: http://www.lawseminars.com/seminars/06LNGMA.php .

2. The Brownfields 2006 conference will be held November 13-15 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. For more information: http://www.brownfields2006.org/en/index.aspx .

3. The UMASS Soils Conference will be held at UMASS Amherst October 16-19. For more information: http://www.umasssoils.com/ .

4. The Massachusetts chapter of the Society for Women Environmental Professionals is hosting speaker Sonya Ward of ENSR on October 12th in Framingham. For more information: www.swep-ma.org .

5. The Global Warming Action Conference is being held on November 19 at MIT's Stata Center in Cambridge. For more information: http://www.massclimateaction.org/ .

6. Another LSI event at the Back Bay Hilton Hotel; "Energy in the Northeast - Resource Adequacy & Reliability Conference". For more information: http://www.lawseminars.com/seminars/06BSEMA.php .

Minnesota area environmental blog

If you're interested in that region, check out Sky Blue Waters. Some of the recent entries on a proposed oil pipeline expansion look very interesting: Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Expansion Planned and A Crude Pipeline for Minnesota.

Followup on CA legislation

California CO2 Laws Won't Prevent Coal Boom

Nevada is prepping to build a bunch of coal plants -- but will California buy their electricity? What if the state can get it from somewhere cleaner, most if not all of the year, like wind or solar?